SAVE NIGERIA NOW ELDER STATESMAN, EZEIFE URGES BUHARI

• Says N’ASSEMBLY, COUNCIL OF  STATE CAN’T HANDLE RESTRUCTURING

By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Torrent of reactions has continued to trail the hard line position of President Muhammadu Buhari on the agitation for restructuring, among other national questions. In this interview, a former governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, declares the president’s statement saying that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable as an idle talk, warning that the country is already on the fringe.  

President Muhammadu Buhari in his speech on Monday said the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. How do you see the statement in the light of the mounting agitations for a reconfiguration of the present federal arrangement?

I was very happy when I read in fake news on WhatsApp that he mentioned political imbalance in the present arrangement and promised there would be restructuring.  I was happy because I thought he showed some understanding of the issues. I had read that one before I saw the real news which didn’t contain much. The fact is that Nigeria is a great country destined to be a super power for Africa. But the same Nigeria, which is a great country, is very close to disintegration. It is now our choice to allow Nigeria to disintegrate or we take advantage of the resources, human and material, which God has given us to achieve that greatness.

“If we had got things, we should go and sit down and picture a federation that would give us no pain and which would work and ensure economic development faster. How can the North be against that? We are against behind the scene attempts to re-introduce secession and civil war as an act of politics. We did that 50 years ago. Nigeria will be a very stupid country if every 50 years we go back to the jungle to fight a war. What kind of human beings are we? If that is what is restructuring, we say no”, he remarked

What is it that God has not given us? Is it climate or endowment of resources, animals, plants, minerals, human beings? Nigeria is destined or planned for unmatched greatness to make the Blackman happy and to be a rallying point and big brother for Africa by developing into a supper power. It is our government that is messing up God’s plan. But the will of God must prevail over the will of man. So, I believe those who don’t want to see will see. It is interesting to note that those who are bringing Nigeria to disintegration are among the greatest gainers in one restructured Nigeria with justice reigning. This country is great and it will become great in prosperity. It will be among the rich nations of the world. Although there is no mention of restructuring in his speech, we thank God that he survived and he is back.    

But he did mention that it is only the National Assembly and the Council of States that can look into the agitation for restructuring. What’s your take on that?

That is nonsense. In the first place, the National Assembly itself is a candidate for restructuring. You saw how they dealt with power devolution. You don’t give such power to a body like that. The Northern military rulers of post civil war Nigeria dumped too many advantages on the North. They gave them 19 states plus Abuja and by implication more senators, more federal constituencies and more members of the House of Representatives. Again, out of 774 Local Governments, they gave North 419, leaving 357 to the South. And we are sharing money to all on the basis of this. The restructuring we are talking about, though language may be big, only means going back to the agreed Nigeria, the Nigeria agreed upon by our founding fathers, which was a federal Nigeria based on regions and federating units. During the Biafra war, the military decided to isolate the Igbo from the rest of the East in order to win the war and therefore created 12 states, six in the North, six in the South. After the war, without proper consultation, the same military started creating states and local governments bringing us to where we are now. That was why 2014 national conference recommended 18 more states to correct some of these things. If that had been done, we should have 54 states plus Abuja by now. The issue now is: Are we going to go back to our original idea of regions or 54 federating units? It appears some people do not understand what we mean by the word restructuring. We are not talking about any grammar here; we are talking of what is already there.  We have the 1963 constitution of federal Nigeria consisting of both regional and federal arrangement. We also have recommendations of the 2014 national conference.

Already, some groups in the South-west have planned to organize a rally in September to press home the demand for restructuring. What is the way out now since the president has foreclosed the possibility of any dialogue on the oneness of Nigeria?

There are no two ways about it; we must restructure to survive. Whatever the West is doing is what the Southeast is doing, is what the Middle Belt is doing. We are together on this.

What do you think the President meant when he mentioned in his speech that he met the late Ojukwu in his Katsina country home and they both agreed on one Nigeria?

Even today, I agree on one Nigeria. But we must restructure and let justice reign. I don’t know where he met with Ojukwu. But wherever they met, Ojukwu didn’t tell him that one group must dominate. Nobody in his right mind wants Nigeria to break up. But it appears that people who will lose most from a break up of Nigeria are the people pushing for the breakup of Nigeria. Therefore, those of us who understand and love our neighbours like ourselves must save our neigbours from the actions they are taking that may be ruinous to them.

 

What modality would it take to restructure?

The raw materials for work are already available. The raw materials are the federal constitution of 1963, the regional constitution and the report of 2014 national conference. There are many available reports. We have even had other conferences before 2014. The principal reports are the constitution of federal Republic of Nigeria, the constitution of western Nigeria, eastern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria and mid-western Nigeria. We can even adopt the line of least resistance and use existing six geo-political zones. In doing that, we allow the states in each zones to meet and formulate the constitution they can live with so that no state will feel like going back to Egypt. Then, we go to a body with sovereign power to declare the view of Nigerians. The alternative is for us to conduct a referendum. That referendum will be pregnant in the sense that any group of Nigerians who rejects the outcome of the conference goes on its own to found its own country. Those who agree to stay will form a new Nigeria or look for another name. I am not being sectional in saying this; I am only trying to work out a permanent Nigeria that works and makes us manifest our destiny. That is, to clean away from the faces of the blackman the shame of slavery.  But many people don’t understand. The issue goes beyond Kano having 64 Local Governments, while Lagos has 20 or Bayelsa having eight Local Governments. It is about the blackman and how to raise his voice, raise his respect among comity of nations.

Are you suggesting the convocation of a fresh national conference or adoption of the 2014 recommendations?

The 2014 national conference did not go far enough. The final thing to complete the action is going back to the agreed Nigeria based on true federal structure or regions. We can adopt the line of least resistance and adopt regions as federating units.

You also said that any group that does not agree to the outcome of referendum can opt out of Nigeria and form another country.

Exactly, that is a peaceful way of going away.

You are saying in effect that the breakup of the country is possible. I am right?

Who says the breakup is not possible? If you don’t make a restructure that satisfies people, people will go. That is no magic about it. The laws of the United Nations allow it. It is idle talk for anyone to say that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable or Nigeria is indissoluble. Those are words of those who don’t want one Nigeria. Those who want unity of Nigeria are saying: Do what will keep Nigeria one.  

In a very clear term, do you believe that a restructured Nigeria would put an end to all these incessant separatist agitations by groups like the IPOB?

 No group of Nigeria whether large or small, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Edo, Ijaw or any group you can think of gains from Nigeria’s breakup. Every group of Nigerians, especially the North will gain massively from one Nigeria properly restructured with justice reigning. I say this with certainty of knowledge. There is no question about it except short sightedness. Today, the country is held down and all of us are sharing in poverty. If we restructure, Nigeria will begin to explode in growth for everyone to enjoy and nobody to lose. Going back to our homes oh Israel is not good for Nigeria. There are people who are autochthonous Nigerians. And there are people who are visitors to Nigeria. Where do they go? Nothing in life is permanent. I think the poverty we are suffering most end. If God allows us to see and appreciate the future, we find out that a restructured Nigeria with justice prevailing will make Fulani a better person, make Hausa a better person, make the Igbo a better person.

There are some things that make dissension moral. I must say that I have some evidence of some behaviours of my people, Igbo, that may be causing the problem because people are not thinking big. Our people are audacious; they are not diplomatic or manipulative. They come to a place, develop it and build palaces for themselves better than the owners of the land. That is what our background gives us. Where you live you make. And because of our audacious nature which is something we are doing but not to hurt anybody, we ooze out more confidence than the original owners of the land, while the original owners of the land become jealous and from jealousy to hatred. We Igbo, we must learn to respect our host communities, we must make friends with our host communities, we must respect the do’s and don’ts of our host communities. And our host communities don’t have to be jealous, if they understand that our behaviours are not meant against them. What they can do is to emulate us. Now, we will adjust and understand them more than they understand us. We don’t hide anything we are doing. We do it in the open. Therefore, people can emulate and dub our development and progress psychology and achievement motivation and develop their own people. Some are doing that already.

On a final note, the president has threatened to deal with any group that foments further trouble in the form of agitation. Is that the way to achieve an enduring peace in the country?

Agitation arose from the South-east because the president in making his appointments at the beginning of his presidency appointed more than 40 people from other parts of Nigeria and not one was appointed from South-east. Agitation arose because not the least of the six principal protocol officers, which is Secretary to the Government of the Federation, was given to the east in a six geo-political zones. Protest arose because in the National Security Council not one person from the South-east is there. Protest arose when the military personnel from South-east were retrenched. Protest arose when security services are dominated by the North without representation from the South-east. These are the reasons for the protests. Worse of all, people who were carrying Bible to go and make memorial service for their dead ones, people who were not even carrying sticks in Aba, in Onitsa, in Port Harcourt, in Asaba were massacred by the Nigerian soldiers. That was the cause of the agitation. I thank God for the recovery and the return of Mr. President. On matters of health, only the will of God matters. And it is very dangerous and questionable for any human to wish death for any other human. We were created by God; nobody helps God by killing a fellow creature. Nothing in the Bible and the Quran justifies any person killing an innocent person and saying he is doing it for God. The same way we should not wish a human being dead.    

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